At least 18 killed after US retaliatory strikes hit 85 targets in Iraq & syria

Following a drone attack that claimed the lives of three US soldiers at a remote base in Jordan, the US military on Friday launched multiple retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian forces and militia groups backed by Tehran in both Iraq and Syria. US Central Command reported that using a combination of drones and long-range B1 bombers operating from US territory, more than 125 precision munitions were used to hit 85 targets in seven facilities—four in Syria and three in Iraq—as a show of the power of the US air force. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, strikes in eastern Syria have claimed the lives of at least 18 terrorists supported by Iran. The monitoring group told AFP that raids that covered a wide swath of eastern Syria, from the city of Deir ez-Zor to Albu Kamal, close to the Iraqi border, destroyed at least 26 significant sites housing pro-Iranian groups, including weapons depots. Charles Lister, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, posted on social media platform X, saying, “Tonight’s strikes in western Iraq and eastern Syria are FAR bigger than any action undertaken before against Iran’s proxies - huge secondary explosions on both sides of the border suggest big rocket/missile depots have been hit.” While refraining from attacking Iran’s territory in retaliation for the drone attack on Sunday, the United States blamed Iran-backed forces for the incident. Both Tehran and Washington have been trying to avert full-scale conflict. “Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement. “The United States does not seek conflict in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. But let all those who might seek to do us harm know this: If you harm an American, we will respond,” he added. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists that the strikes lasted about 30 minutes, though they involved a lengthy trip for the B-1 bombers that took part after flying from the United States. He said the Defense Department is still assessing damage from the strikes – which hit dozens of targets at seven separate facilities – but that the United States believes the raids were successful, and made clear that more would follow. - ‘Dignified transfer’ - Iraq, whose prime minister called for the departure of international troops after a previous US strike in Baghdad, condemned the latest military action as a violation of its sovereignty. Kirby said Washington “did inform the Iraqi government prior to the strikes,” but did not elaborate on Baghdad’s private response to that information. Biden – who had vowed to strike back against those responsible for the drone attack in Jordan – earlier Friday attended a solemn military ritual at a Delaware air base for the return of the three dead soldiers. The secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General CQ Brown, also attended what is known as a “dignified transfer” – their presence highlighting the importance, as well as relative rarity, of returning dead service members in the wake of the US exit from Afghanistan in 2021. The three soldiers killed Sunday were the first US military deaths from hostile fire in the Middle East since the October 7 Hamas surprise attack on Israel that sparked a devastating Israeli assault on Gaza, which has stoked tensions and violence in the region and dragged it ever closer to an all-out conflict. US and coalition troops have been attacked more than 165 times in Iraq, Syria and Jordan since mid-October with weapons including drones, rockets and short-range ballistic missiles. Dozens of American personnel were wounded in previous attacks, many of which have been claimed by a loose alliance of Iran-linked armed groups that opposes US support for Israel in the Gaza conflict and wants American troops out of the region. Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels meanwhile began targeting international shipping in November, sparking US and British air strikes aimed at reducing their ability to hit commercial vessels. Two SEALS – among the most elite special forces in the US military – were declared dead after being lost at sea during an operation to seize Iranian weapons bound for the Huthis on a ship off the coast of Somalia. (With inputs from Agencies)